System and method for virtual environment preservation based on automated item reduction

ABSTRACT

A method implemented in a computer infrastructure having computer executable code, includes detecting one of an absence of a virtual universe (VU) occurrence in a VU within a predetermined time period, a special event in the VU and a change of real world status from a previous real world status. Additionally, the method includes determining a VU asset of a VU resident relevant to the VU occurrence, the special event or the previous real world status. Further, the method includes performing an automated asset reduction of the VU asset based on the determining.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to computer-based virtualuniverses, and more specifically, to a method and system for virtualenvironment preservation based on automated item reduction.

BACKGROUND

Virtual universes (VUs) are rapidly becoming a popular part of today'sculture. A VU is a computer-based simulated environment. Many VUs arerepresented using 3-D graphics and landscapes, and are populated by manythousands of users, known as “residents”. Often, the VU resembles thereal world such as in terms of physics, places, and landscapes.

VUs are also known as metaverses and “3D Internet.” Some example VUsinclude: SECOND LIFE™, ENTROPIA UNIVERSE®, THE SIMS ONLINE™ andTHERE™—as well as massively multiplayer online games such as EVERQUEST®,ULTIMA ONLINE™, LINEAGE® and WORLD OF WARCRAFT®. (SECOND LIFE is atrademark of Linden Research, Inc. in the United States and/or othercountries. ENTROPIA UNIVERSE is a registered trademark of MindArk PE ABin the United States, other countries, or both. THE SIMS ONLINE andULTIMA ONLINE are trademarks of Electronic Arts, Inc. in the UnitedStates, other countries, or both. THERE is a trademark of MakenaTechnologies, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both.EVERQUEST is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation of America, Inc.in the United States, other countries, or both. LINEAGE is a registeredtrademark of NCsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries,or both. WORLD OF WARCRAFT is a registered trademark of BlizzardEntertainment, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both.)

A VU is intended for its residents to traverse, inhabit, and interactthrough the use of avatars. In operation, user(s) control the avatar(s).An avatar is a graphical representation selected by the user, oftentaking the form of a cartoon-like human or other figure. The user'saccount, upon which the user can build an avatar, is tied to aninventory of assets the user owns, such as, for example, clothing,weapons, artwork, furniture, virtual pets, houses, virtual vehicles, andlandmarks, amongst other assets. A region is a virtual area of landwithin the VU, typically residing on a server's central processing unit(CPU). A user context includes a very broad range of attributes thatdescribe the user and which are relevant to their behavioral, search andother informational needs.

The data representation of an object or item in the VU is stored asinformation, e.g., as data or metadata. The object may be created by anobject creator, e.g., a VU manager, a user, etc. In some virtualuniverses, larger objects are constructed of smaller objects, termed“prims” for primitive objects. These “prims” usually include boxes,prisms, spheres, cylinders, tori, tubes and/or rings. The “prims” may berearranged, resized, rotated, twisted, tapered, dimpled and linked tocreate larger composite objects. The creator of such an object may thenmap a texture or multiple textures to the object. Texture mapping is amethod of adding detail, surface texture, or color to acomputer-generated graphic or 3D model. When the object is to berendered, this information is transmitted from the VU server to theclient.

An inventory of assets comprises objects associated with the user'sindividual avatar or placed by the user on virtual land they own or onpublic land. Such objects may have been created by the user from prims,purchased, or obtained for free. Examples of objects include clothing,weapons, artwork, furniture, virtual pets, houses, virtual vehicles, andlandmarks, amongst other objects. Assets, avatar(s), the environment,and everything else visually represented in the VU each compriseuniversally unique identifiers (UUIDs) (tied to geometric datadistributed to user(s) as textual coordinates), textures (distributed touser(s) as graphics files), and effects data (rendered by the user'sclient according to the user's preference(s) and user's devicecapabilities).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect of the invention, a method implemented in a computerinfrastructure having computer executable code tangibly embodied on acomputer readable medium, comprises detecting one of an absence of avirtual universe (VU) occurrence in a VU within a predetermined timeperiod, a special event in the VU and a change of real world status froma previous real world status. Additionally, the method comprisesdetermining a VU asset of a VU resident relevant to the VU occurrence,the special event or the previous real world status. Further, the methodcomprises performing an automated asset reduction of the VU asset basedon the determining.

In another aspect of the invention, a system comprises a virtualuniverse (VU) monitoring tool configured to detect one of an absence ofa virtual universe (VU) occurrence in a VU within a predetermined timeperiod, a special event in the VU and a change of real world status froma previous real world status, and determine a VU asset of a VU residentrelevant to the VU occurrence, the special event or the previous realworld status. Additionally, the system comprises at least one of anasset deletion tool configured to delete the VU asset, an assetgraphical characteristics alteration tool configured to alter agraphical characteristic of the VU asset, and an asset archival storagetool configured to archive the VU asset in a storage system and removethe VU asset from the VU resident's inventory or a VU landscape.

In an additional aspect of the invention, a computer program productcomprising a computer usable storage medium having readable program codeembodied in the medium is provided. The computer program productincludes at least one component to detect one of an absence of a virtualuniverse (VU) occurrence in a VU within a predetermined time period, aspecial event in the VU and a change of real world status from aprevious real world status. Additionally, the at least one componentdetermines a VU asset of a VU resident relevant to the VU occurrence,the special event or the previous real world status. Further, the atleast one component performs an automated asset reduction of the VUasset based on a detection of the absence of one of the VU occurrence,the special event and the change of real world status, and a determiningthe VU asset of the VU resident relevant to the VU occurrence, thespecial event or the previous real world status.

In a further aspect of the invention, a method comprises providing acomputer infrastructure operable to detect one of an absence of avirtual universe (VU) occurrence in a VU within a predetermined timeperiod, a special event in the VU and a change of real world status froma previous real world status. Additionally, the computer infrastructureis operable to determine a VU asset of a VU resident relevant to the VUoccurrence, the special event or the previous real world status.Further, the computer infrastructure is operable to perform an automatedasset reduction of the VU asset to maintain a primitive objects (prim)load of the VU beneath a prim load limit of the VU based on a detectionof the absence of one of the VU occurrence, the special event and thechange of real world status.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in the detailed description whichfollows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way ofnon-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative environment for implementing the steps inaccordance with the invention;

FIGS. 2-5 show exemplary data tables for associating VU items withregions of the VU, VU collaborations, user contexts and modes oftransportation in the VU in accordance with the invention; and

FIGS. 6-8 are exemplary flow diagrams of steps for implementing aspectsof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to computer-based virtualuniverses (VUs), and more specifically, to a method and system forvirtual environment preservation based on automated item reduction. Forexample, the present invention provides automatic, criteria-basedmethods for asset reduction. In embodiments, the methods for assetreduction may include removing or deleting the assets, changing theassets' graphical characteristics to reduce computational load, orarchiving the assets. Additionally, specific identified criteria,including combinations of real world and virtual world criteria, may beused as triggers for asset reduction.

The number of available resources such as landmarks, events, retailstores, services, and other avatars (who might serve business andpersonal needs) is proliferating in VUs. Due to this proliferation,users' avatars accumulate personal inventory items and assets that areplaced on the landscape by receiving them for free, purchasing them, orconstructing them from prims. Over time, however, while VU users'interests and needs may change, and certain assets used directly bytheir avatars, such as clothing, or assets that are placed on virtualprivate or public land are, e.g., no longer relevant or useful to theneeds of residents, companies, or other businesses, VU users continue tomaintain these, e.g., irrelevant or less useful assets.

As a result, VUs are becoming overwhelmed by assets (e.g., asset orinventory clutter) in the form of avatar personal inventory items andobjects placed on virtual land. For this reason, residents may havedifficulty finding relevant assets. Additionally, the overallperformance of the VU may be negatively impacted.

Also, asset clutter affects individual users by increasing thedifficulty for them to locate relevant assets. Additionally, due toasset clutter, the demands on the VU infrastructure may be increased.Asset clutter affects the overall performance of virtual universes,because of the computationally intensive nature of rendering theseassets. As an example of the impact of such computing resourcelimitations, a large enterprise recently sent out an urgent message toemployees with avatars and objects on enterprise owned islands in a VU,urging them to reduce their prims as soon as possible.

In addition, there may be computing resource limitations associatedwith, for example, a VU land of a specific size, which may preclude useof the VU land for special events, involving, e.g., a temporary influxof additional avatars and their associated personal inventory items.That is, if a VU land is to be used for a special event, and plannersanticipate that the special event will create an influx of VU residentsto the VU land, this influx may cause a prim limit to be exceeded.

Within VUs, manual methods are known for reducing asset clutter forinventory management. Recommended asset clutter solutions include anumber of suggestions for inventory management, including:

-   -   1. Organize inventory contents regularly. Do not keep two copies        of the same, replicable item in inventory since they may be        copied again from the public library object collection if        needed.    -   2. Use subfolders to organize inventory contents.    -   3. Do not carry objects not likely to be used in the near        future. Use the trash function to delete everything you probably        won't use. Empty the trash at the conclusion of every SL        session. The items in the trash can take up as much space as        they did in their original folders.    -   4. Make a backup copy of the primary avatar's Inventory. Put it        in a storage prim outside the primary avatar's inventory, or        copy folders and items into an alternate avatar's inventory.    -   5. The debug menu will provide a list of everything identified        by Second Life which is considered “clothing” (or whatever other        category is selected) and can be removed to trash directly from        the list.    -   6. Sort all inventory folders and items by date of acquisition        and decide to store older creations outside of active inventory.    -   7. Create a storage prim to remove items in certain categories        from active inventory. Items can be copied back into the        resident's inventory when needed. Stores such as THiNC        (http://thincsl.com/category/products/inventory-box-organizer/)        provide specialized inventory management aids including        specialized security boxes for textures and for photos.    -   8. Storage prims can be place on a user's rented or owned        property and also be copied to a friend's inventory in case the        primary inventory gets corrupted.    -   9. Obtain a second user account and create an alternate avatar.        Use the Search function to directly transfer some inventory        items from the primary avatar to the alternate.

While these asset management techniques describe manual methods toenable residents to delete or archive categories of assets, they fail toaddress a number of situational criteria for automatic asset reductionthat span a number of the asset categories addressed by these previouslydisclosed manual methods. These manual methods also require significanteffort by users who do not perform such cleanups often.

By implementing the present invention, VU residents may more easilylocate assets due to the reduction of asset clutter. Additionally, VUresidents will experience improved overall performance in the VUincluding reduced time to load their inventory. VU service providerswill also need fewer computing resources to provide a responsiveimmersive environment and will have the flexibility to host specialevents without concerns about performance issues or denial of access tospecific virtual lands because of prim overload. Further, throughreduced asset clutter, increased performance and enhanced relevance,businesses may be able to satisfy and service customer needs (and createa good impression).

System Environment

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present inventionmay be embodied as a system, method or computer program product.Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirelyhardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,the present invention may take the form of a computer program productembodied in any tangible medium of expression having computer-usableprogram code embodied in the medium.

Any combination of one or more computer usable or computer readablemedium(s) may be utilized. The computer-usable or computer-readablemedium may be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic,optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus,device, or propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustivelist) of the computer-readable medium would include the following:

-   -   an electrical connection having one or more wires,    -   a portable computer diskette,    -   a hard disk,    -   a random access memory (RAM),    -   a read-only memory (ROM),    -   an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash        memory),    -   an optical fiber,    -   a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM),    -   an optical storage device,    -   a transmission media such as those supporting the Internet or an        intranet, or    -   a magnetic storage device.

The computer-usable or computer-readable medium could even be paper oranother suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as theprogram can be electronically captured, via, for instance, opticalscanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted, orotherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and then storedin a computer memory.

In the context of this document, a computer-usable or computer-readablemedium may be any medium that can contain, store, communicate,propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with theinstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The computer-usablemedium may include a propagated data signal with the computer-usableprogram code embodied therewith, either in baseband or as part of acarrier wave. The computer usable program code may be transmitted usingany appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline,optical fiber cable, RF, etc.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the presentinvention may be written in any combination of one or more programminglanguages, including an object oriented programming language such asJava, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer,partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partlyon the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely onthe remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remotecomputer may be connected to the user's computer through any type ofnetwork. This may include, for example, a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative environment 10 for managing the processesin accordance with the invention. To this extent, the environment 10includes a computer infrastructure 12 that can perform the processesdescribed herein using a computing device 14. The computing device 14includes an asset deletion tool 30, an asset graphical characteristicsalteration tool 35, an asset archival storage tool 40, a VU monitoringtool 45, a real world status tool 50 and a special events tool 55. Thesetools are operable to facilitate the deletion of assets, the alterationof graphical characteristics of assets, the archival storage of assets,the monitoring of the VU, the indication of a change in real worldstatus, and the indication of the occurrence of a special event in theVU, e.g., the processes described herein.

The computing device 14 includes a processor 20, a memory 22A, aninput/output (I/O) interface 24, and a bus 26. The memory 22A caninclude local memory employed during actual execution of program code,bulk storage, and cache memories which provide temporary storage of atleast some program code in order to reduce the number of times code mustbe retrieved from bulk storage during execution.

Further, the computing device 14 is in communication with an externalI/O device/resource 28. The external I/O device/resource 28 may bekeyboards, displays, pointing devices, etc. The I/O device 28 caninteract with the computing device 14 or any device that enables thecomputing device 14 to communicate with one or more other computingdevices using any type of communications link. Additionally, inembodiments, the computing device 14 includes a storage system 22B andan archival storage system 22C.

The processor 20 executes computer program code (e.g., program control44), which is stored in memory 22A and/or storage system 22B. Programcontrol 44 executes processes and is stored on media, as discussedherein. While executing computer program code, the processor 20 can readand/or write data to/from memory 22A, storage system 22B, and/or I/Ointerface 24. The bus 26 provides a communications link between each ofthe components in the computing device 14.

The computing device 14 can comprise any general purpose computingarticle of manufacture capable of executing computer program codeinstalled thereon (e.g., a personal computer, server, handheld device,etc.). However, it is understood that the computing device 14 is onlyrepresentative of various possible equivalent computing devices that mayperform the processes described herein. To this extent, in embodiments,the functionality provided by the computing device 14 can be implementedby a computing article of manufacture that includes any combination ofgeneral and/or specific purpose hardware and/or computer program code.In each embodiment, the program code and hardware can be created usingstandard programming and engineering techniques, respectively.

Similarly, the computer infrastructure 12 is only illustrative ofvarious types of computer infrastructures for implementing theinvention. For example, in embodiments, the computer infrastructure 12comprises two or more computing devices (e.g., a server cluster) thatcommunicate over any type of communications link, such as a network, ashared memory, or the like, to perform the processes described herein.Further, while performing the processes described herein, one or morecomputing devices in the computer infrastructure 12 can communicate withone or more other computing devices external to computer infrastructure12 using any type of communications link. The communications link cancomprise any combination of wired and/or wireless links; any combinationof one or more types of networks (e.g., the Internet, a wide areanetwork, a local area network, a virtual private network, etc.); and/orutilize any combination of transmission techniques and protocols.

In embodiments, the computer infrastructure 12 may communicate withanother computer infrastructure (not shown), which is operating the VU.However, the invention contemplates that the computer infrastructure 12may operate the asset deletion tool 30, the asset graphicalcharacteristics alteration tool 35, the asset archival storage tool 40,the VU monitoring tool 45, the real world status tool 50 and the specialevents tool 55 and operate the VU.

In embodiments, the invention provides a business method that performsthe steps of the invention on a subscription, advertising, and/or feebasis. That is, a service provider, such as a Solution Integrator, couldoffer to perform the processes described herein. In this case, theservice provider can create, maintain, deploy, support, etc., a computerinfrastructure that performs the process steps of the invention for oneor more customers. In return, the service provider can receive paymentfrom the customer(s) under a subscription and/or fee agreement and/orthe service provider can receive payment from the sale of advertisingcontent to one or more third parties.

Asset Reduction

The present invention provides automatic, criteria-based methods forasset reduction. The inventive methods provide several asset reductionoptions, including: permanent or semi-permanent reduction (deletion) ofidentified assets, changing graphical characteristics of identifiedassets and temporary reduction of assets via archival storage.

According to an aspect of the invention, the asset deletion tool 30 mayautomatically permanently or semi-permanently reduce (e.g., delete)identified assets of a user using a “recycle bin/trash” in a VU. In aVU, this may be accomplished, for example, by teleporting an item to the“trash dump” or “storage closet” region, to which, for example, anavatar may visit for a period of time after deleting or reducinginventory. Additionally, in embodiments, the asset deletion tool 30 maymove these identified assets to a recycle/trash bin on the end user'scomputer. Additionally, scripts (e.g., programs) may be associated withobjects. In embodiments, these associated scripts may be separated fromthe objects and handled separately.

According to a further aspect of the invention, with a second assetreduction method, the asset graphical characteristics alteration tool 35may alter the graphical characteristics of identified assets, such as,for example, texture mapping detail or color, amongst other graphicalcharacteristics, to reduce the computational load on the VU. Forexample, the asset graphical characteristics alteration tool 35 mayreduce the number of facets that compose an object to create alower-resolution version (that, for example, requires less computationalload to render in the VU). Additionally, for example, the assetgraphical characteristics alteration tool 35 may eliminate textures tocreate monochrome objects. In embodiments, the asset graphicalcharacteristics alteration tool 35 may perform some of these reductionsgradually so that users have visual indication of their lesser usedobjects. For example, the asset graphical characteristics alterationtool 35 may control an object to flash, blink or fade for a time beforethe asset graphical characteristics alteration tool 35 alters the objectinto, e.g., a low-resolution mode.

According to a further aspect of the invention, with a third assetreduction method, the asset archival storage tool 40 may reduce assetsvia moving the assets to a secondary archival storage, e.g., thearchival storage system 22C. The off-load (or moving) of assets to thissecondary archival storage system 22C reduces the demand on a VU mainstorage and/or a database, e.g., storage system 22B. In embodiments, theasset archival storage tool 40 may provide a user an option for lateraccess and restoration of the temporarily reduced asset. Additionally,in embodiments, this secondary archival storage system 22C, e.g., adatabase, may be based on some cheaper and/or slower technology.

VU Triggers for Asset Reduction

According to a further aspect of the invention, a VU monitoring tool 45may monitor specific identified criteria including, for example, acombination of real world and VU criteria. Additionally, in embodiments,the VU monitoring tool 45 may use the specific identified criteria astriggers for asset reduction. The first four criteria involve thedetermination of relevance in four dimensions in the VU: 1) relevance tolandscape; 2) relevance to collaboration with other VU residents; 3)relevance to user context; and 4) relevance to mode of transportation.In each of the respective dimensions, the method used to determinerelevance will vary by embodiment, but all potential methods used withthe inventive system should have the aim of associating VU items with VUresidents.

1. Reduction by Relevance to Landscape

In embodiments, the VU monitoring tool 45 may determine if a region hasnot been visited by a specific resident within a preset duration. If theVU monitoring tool 45 determines that the specific resident has not beento that region within the preset duration, the VU monitoring tool 45 maydetermine that an item is relevant or related to that particular land orregion of the VU. Additionally, the VU monitoring tool 45 may direct thereduction of the relevant asset or item. For example, the VU monitoringtool 45 may direct the asset archival storage tool 40 to move therelevant inventory items for that resident to the archival storagesystem 22C.

In embodiments, the VU monitoring tool 45 may determine relevance ofitems to landscape by associating VU items with residents and regions.For example, with an exemplary method, the VU monitoring tool 45 maydetermine that an item is relevant or related to a particular land orregion if the user placed the object and left the item in the particularland or region, and the user is the only resident who has used that itemon that land. With another exemplary method, the VU monitoring tool 45may determine that an item is relevant to a particular land or region ifthe item was purchased or acquired for free on a previous visit to thatland or region (or elsewhere) and the content of the inventory item isspecific to that land or region (e.g., tourist map of that land orregion).

In an exemplary method, the VU monitoring tool 45 may monitor regionvisitation by resident and determine whether the region has been visitedby the resident within a predefined time period. In embodiments, thepredefined time period may be configurable by, e.g., the user, a VUservice provider or an asset reduction service provider. With anexemplary method, the VU monitoring tool 45 may keep track of regionnames in a database, e.g., storage system 22B, with a visit counter thatspecifies, for example, the number of times or hours a user spends inthat region.

If the VU monitoring tool 45 determines that a resident has not visitedthe region within the predefined time period, the VU monitoring tool 45may determine items deemed to be relevant to this region. With anexemplary method for determining items relevant to a region, the VUmonitoring tool 45 may track in a database, e.g., storage system 22B,records that contain, for example, the location, the item, and a time ofuse or withdrawal of the item from inventory, amongst other information.Each item can have an identification (ID), e.g., UUID, and the recordmay specify the items location and a VU user's visits within a radius ofthe item.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary database table 200 for determining a relevanceof items to particular regions of the VU. As shown in FIG. 2, thedatabase table 200 may contain a RelationshipID column 205, anInventoryUUID column 210, a Boundary column 215 and a TimeInBoundarycolumn 220. The RelationshipID column 205 may contain the primary keyfor the records of database table 200. In relational database design, aunique key or primary key is a candidate key to uniquely identify eachrow in a table. A unique key or primary key comprises a single column orset of columns. No two distinct rows in a table can have the same value(or combination of values) in those columns. The InventoryUUID column210 may contain the foreign key to the existing inventory/objects UUIDtable. In the context of relational databases, a foreign key is areferential constraint between two tables. The foreign key identifies acolumn or a set of columns in one (referencing) table that refers to acolumn or set of columns in another (referenced) table. The Boundarycolumn 215 may contain, for example, a region's coordinates (such as anXYZ-XYZ-XYZ convention where every item or asset within thesecoordinates will trigger an association to the region), a landscape nameor coordinates, or a region name or region UUID. Additionally, inembodiments, the data of the Boundary column 215 may start out as aregion, e.g., region UUID, and auto-reduce itself to coordinatesrepresenting a subset of a region based on how an object is moved overtime. The TimeInBoundary column 220 may contain a time measurement thatis incremented as the item remains within the boundary designated in theBoundary column 215.

Additionally, the VU monitoring tool 45 may use, for example, the assetdeletion tool 30, the asset graphical characteristics alteration tool35, and/or the asset archival storage tool 40 to perform an assetreduction. For example, the VU monitoring tool 45 may direct the assetarchival storage tool 40 to move relevant landscape items (andassociated relevant inventory items for that resident) to secondarystorage and delete those items from the region or the user's inventory.

For example, a user may own five islands and six buildings. Inembodiments, the VU monitoring tool 45 may identify areas that have notbeen visited within the predefined time period (and, thus, are notlikely to be visited) by a user. Additionally, the VU monitoring tool 45may identify items associated with the identified areas (e.g., a map ofone of the owned islands that is no longer visited) and the assetarchival storage tool 40 may move the associated items to, for example,a secondary archive, e.g., archival storage system 22C.

In further embodiments, a VU service provider, for example, may utilizethe determined association of items and VU regions (or the relevance ofitems to particular regions of the VU) as an indicator of a change inuser context for the avatar when a particular land or region is visitedand a specific item is withdrawn from inventory. This may enable the VUservice provider to anticipate a need for additional changes orresources without requiring an explicit request from the avatarwithdrawing the item.

2. Reduction by Relevance to Collaboration with Other Residents

In embodiments, the VU monitoring tool 45 may determine whether an itemis relevant or related to collaboration of a VU resident with other VUspecific residents, and whether these residents have had no interactionwithin a predetermined duration. If the resident has not had interactionwithin the predetermined duration, the VU monitoring tool 45 may directan asset reduction of those assets determined to be relevant to the VUcollaboration.

The VU monitoring tool 45 should determine relevance of items tocollaboration with other residents and should associate VU items withresident collaboration. The VU monitoring tool 45 may determine that anitem is relevant or related to collaboration of a resident with otherspecific residents, for example, if the item is only used (e.g., broughtout of inventory or used on land) when the residents are messaging witheach other or in close physical proximity to each other, and is not usedat other times by the specific resident. In embodiments, the VUmonitoring tool 45 may monitor collaboration between residents anddetermine whether a specific resident has collaborated with anotherresident within a predefined time period. If the VU monitoring tool 45determines that the specific resident has not collaborated with theother resident within a predefined time period, the VU monitoring tool45 may determine items deemed to have been relevant during previouscollaborations between the specific resident and the other resident.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary database table 300 for determining a relevanceof items to particular collaborations between a particular VU residentand other VU residents. As shown in FIG. 3, the database table 300 maycontain an InventoryConversationID column 305, an InventoryUUID column310, an AvatarUUID column 315, a TimeWithAvatar column 320 and aNumberOfReveals column 325. The InventoryConversationID column 305 maycontain the primary key for the records of database table 300. TheInventoryUUID column 310 may contain the foreign key to an existinginventory/objects UUID table. The AvatarUUID column 315 may contain theforeign key to an avatar with whom the particular user is, e.g.,displaying and/or using their object. The TimeWithAvatar column 320 maycontain a time measurement that is incremented as an object remains inthe presence of the avatar identified in the AvatarUUID column 315. TheNumberOfReveals column 325 may contain a numeric that is incrementedevery time the object (identified in the InventoryUUID column 310) wasin the user's inventory, but then brought out in front of the avataridentified in the AvatarUUID column 315. In embodiments, the data of theNumberOfReveals column 325 may indicate more relevance, and thus, forexample, may be weighted higher, than an object the user is alwaysdisplaying, such as a jacket.

Additionally, the VU monitoring tool 45 may direct an asset reductionfor those items deemed relevant to a VU collaboration between a VU userand other VU resident that has not occurred within the predeterminedperiod. For example, the VU monitoring tool 45 may direct the assetarchival storage tool 40 to move relevant collaboration items (andassociated inventory items for that specific resident) to a secondarystorage, e.g., archival storage system 22C and may delete the item(s)from avatar's regions or inventory, e.g., on the storage system 22B.

For example, a user may have had a previous collaboration with anotherresident, during which the user often displayed specific photos and giftart objects from their inventory and put on certain clothing items onlywhen messaging with (or in close physical proximity to) this secondresident. The VU monitoring tool 45 may monitor the frequency of theseinteractions, and may determine that the collaboration has ended.Accordingly, the VU monitoring tool 45 may then direct an itemreduction. For example, the VU monitoring tool 45 may instruct the assetarchival storage tool 40 to move the items deemed relevant to theprevious collaboration to, e.g., the archival storage system 22C anddelete the relevant items from the region or user's inventory.

In further embodiments, a VU service provider, for example, may utilizethe frequency of reveals of a specific item in the presence of anotherspecific avatar or category of avatars to indicate a change in usercontext for the avatar withdrawing the item from inventory. This couldenable, for example, the VU service provider to anticipate the need foradditional changes or resources without requiring an explicit requestfrom the avatar withdrawing the item. This anticipation of needs ischaracteristic of responsive service environments and a servicedifferentiator promoting customer loyalty. For example, if every time anavatar withdraws a briefcase and presentation, the avatar performs apresentation with a particular avatar, the VU service provider could usethe withdrawal of these items from inventory to trigger a request toteleport the two avatars to a presentation hall or to otherwise providea presentation screen.

3. Reduction by Relevance to User Context

With further embodiments, the VU monitoring tool 45 may judge an item tobe relevant or related to a certain user context and the VU monitoringtool 45 may determine whether this context has been invoked within apredetermined duration. If the VU monitoring tool 45 determines that therelevant context has not been invoked within the predetermined duration,the VU monitoring tool 45 may direct an item reduction of the relateditems.

A user context includes a very broad range of attributes that describe auser and which are relevant to their behavioral, search and otherinformational needs. The VU monitoring tool 45 may, in order todetermine relevance of items to user context, associate VU items with aresident's context. For example, the VU monitoring tool 45 may determinethat an item is relevant to or related to a specific user context if theresident only displays this item from inventory or interacts with anitem on the landscape when identified with that user context.

In embodiments, the VU monitoring tool 45 may monitor user context ofthe resident and determine whether the resident's user context haschanged, such that a previous user context is no longer in evidence.While there are potentially a large number potential user contexts forany user population, in embodiments, each user would likely choose, forexample, a single user context or a small number of user contexts thatapply to them in different circumstances. In embodiments, a user mayindicate a new user context, for example, by selecting a new usercontext from a list of user contexts. Additionally, the VU monitoringtool 45 may determine that a previous user context is no longer inevidence if the previous user context has not been invoked for apredetermined time period.

If the VU monitoring tool 45 determines that the resident's user contexthas changed, the VU monitoring tool 45 may determine items deemed tohave been relevant to the previous user context. In embodiments, adatabase may contain For example, as discussed further below, a VUresident may no longer be looking to buy land in the VU and the user'sprevious user context of “land buyer” may no longer be in evidence.Thus, an asset reduction may be performed for assets such as, forexample, previous land sale flyers.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary database table 400 for determining a relevanceof items to a user context according to a further aspect of theinvention. As shown in FIG. 4, the database table 400 may contain anInventoryContextID column 405, a ContextUUID column 410, anInventoryUUID column 415 and a TimeInContext column 420. TheInventoryContextID column 405 may contain a primary key for the recordsof database table 400. The ContextUUID column 410 may contain a foreignkey to the particular user context stored in a database of potentialuser contexts. The InventoryUUID column 415 may contain a foreign key tothe existing inventory/objects UUID table. The TimeInContext column 420may contain a time measurement or a counter that is incremented as theobject identified in the InventoryUUID column 415 is used in conjunctionwith the user context identified in the ContextUUID column 410.

Additionally, the VU monitoring tool 45 may direct an item reduction ofthose items related to the previous user context. For example, the VUmonitoring tool 45 may direct the asset archival storage tool 40 to movethe relevant inventory items to a secondary inventory or an inventoryarchive, e.g., the archival storage system 22C, and delete thoserelevant inventory items from a region or user's inventory.

For example, a VU resident may no longer be looking to buy land in theVU. Thus, the VU monitoring tool 45 may determine that the user'sprevious user context of “land buyer” is no longer in evidence. One ofthe data points monitored by the VU monitoring tool 45 for contextdetection includes, for example, the observation that the resident is nolonger accepting presence-based advertising flyers for virtual landsales. In embodiments, the VU monitoring tool 45 may determine itemsrelevant to this user context of “land buyer.” For example, the VUmonitoring tool 45 may identify assets such as, for example, previousflyers and/or previously accepted personal gifts associated withpotential land purchases. Additionally, the VU monitoring tool 45 maydirect an item reduction of these identified assets. For example, viathe asset archival storage tool 40, these items may be moved tosecondary storage, e.g., archival storage system 22C, and deleted fromthe resident's personal inventory.

4. Reduction by Relevance to Mode of Transportation

According to further aspects of the invention, the VU monitoring tool 45may determine an item to be relevant or related to a certain mode oftransportation (e.g., walking, teleporting, or flying), and maydetermine that this mode of transportation has not been invoked within apredetermined duration. Accordingly, the VU monitoring tool 45 maydirect an item reduction of those items related to the certain mode oftransportation.

In embodiments, the VU monitoring tool 45 may monitor modes oftransportation of a particular VU resident and determine if the VUresident has used a specific mode of transportation recently, e.g.,within a predetermined time period. If the VU monitoring tool 45determines that a specific mode of transportation has not been usedwithin the predetermined time period, the VU monitoring tool 45 maydetermine items deemed to be relevant to this mode of transportation.

In embodiments, the VU monitoring tool 45 should associate VU items withthe resident's mode of transportation to determine relevance of items tomode of transportation. For example, the VU monitoring tool 45 maydetermine that an item is relevant to a specific mode of transportationif the item is specifically designed to be used with that mode oftransportation.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary database table 500 for determining a relevanceof items to a particular mode of transportation according to a furtheraspect of the invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the database table 500 maycontain an InventoryTransportID column 505, a TransportUUID column 510,an InventoryUUID column 515 and a TimeWithTransport column 520. TheInventoryTransportID column 505 may contain a primary key for therecords of database table 500. The TransportUUID column 510 may containa foreign key to the particular mode of transportation. TheInventoryUUID column 515 may contain a foreign key to the existinginventory/objects UUID table. The TimeWithTransport column 520 maycontain a time measurement or a counter that is incremented as theobject identified in the InventoryUUID column 515 is used in conjunctionwith the mode of transportation identified in the TransportUUID column510.

According to an aspect of the invention, the VU monitoring tool 45 maydirect a reduction of those items deemed to be relevant to a particularmode of transportation when the VU monitoring tool 45 determines thatthe mode of transportation has not been used for a predetermined timeperiod. For example, the VU monitoring tool 45 may direct the assetarchival storage tool 40 to move the relevant inventory items to asecondary inventory or an inventory archive, e.g., the archival storagesystem 22C, and delete these items from, e.g., the user's inventory orVU landscape.

For example, a user may have an airplane in their personal inventory andmay have placed a landing cue visible from 10,000 feet on their land.The VU monitoring tool 45 may determine whether the user has used theirairplane recently (e.g., within a predetermined time period). If the VUmonitoring tool 45 determines that the VU user has not used the airplanewithin the predetermined time period, the VU monitoring tool 45 maydirect an asset reduction for the landing cue, e.g., the landing cueitem may be removed from the users inventory or the VU landscape, andarchived, e.g., in the archival storage system 22C.

Real World Status Triggers for Asset Reduction

As noted above, the methods described for asset reduction in a VU(permanent or semi-permanent deletion, change in graphicalcharacteristics, temporary reduction via archival storage with optionfor later restoration) may be triggered by a number different criteriawithin the VU. In further embodiments, a change in a real world statusas reported by the user may act as a trigger for asset reduction. Themethods used to determine relevance based on the reported real worldstatus change will vary by embodiment, but all potential methods usedwith the inventive system should have the goal of associating VU itemswith users or the entities for which real world status changes arereported.

In embodiments, a real world status tool 50 may determine a user's realworld status change, by, for example, detecting a change in a user'sprofile or by a user instructing the VU of a real world change via,e.g., a menu based profile. That is, the VU monitoring tool 45 maymonitor changes in real world status profile reported by users, e.g.,via the real world status tool 50, to determine if a user's real worldstatus has changed.

If the VU monitoring tool 45 determines that the user's real worldstatus has changed, the VU monitoring tool 45 may determine items thatare relevant or related to a previous real world status (i.e., the realworld status that has changed) and may direct an item reduction of thoserelated items. For example, the VU monitoring tool 45 may direct theasset graphical characteristics alteration tool 35 to elide graphicaldetails (e.g. coloration) of those items relevant to the previous realworld status.

For example, a VU resident may take a new job with a real world companybut may have forgotten about various VU inventory items they acquiredwhile associated with their previous employer. After the residentreports their real world status change, e.g., via the real world statustool 50, the VU monitoring tool 45 may identify the relevant inventoryitems associated with the former employer (e.g., documents and/oroutfits associated with the former employer) and, for example, maydirect the asset archival storage tool 40 to remove the relevant itemsfrom the VU resident's inventory to an inventory archive, e.g., thearchival storage 22C.

With a further example, a product may not be selling well in anenterprise's physical store and/or their web store. Accordingly, theenterprise's virtual store manager may desire an efficient way to reducethe assets associated with that product in the VU. Thus, in embodiments,the virtual store manager may use the real world status tool 50 toreport each product's real world sales status, e.g., with menu basedprofile. The VU monitoring tool 45 may monitor changes in real worldsales status reported by the virtual store manager via the real worldstatus tool 50. Accordingly, the VU monitoring tool 45 may determinewhether a real world sales status has changed, e.g., indicating reducedsales for specific products via, for example, the real world status tool50. In a further embodiment, the real world status tool 50 may performdata mining of available real world sales data available to authorizedpersonnel, e.g., at the enterprise's web site.

If the VU monitoring tool 45 determines that a real world status haschanged, the VU monitoring tool 45 may determine items deemed to berelevant to these specific products (e.g., virtual flyers and/orpromotional posters linked to the product) and may direct an itemreduction of those relevant items. For example, the VU monitoring tool45 may direct the asset archival storage tool 40 to move the relevantinventory items to a secondary inventory or an inventory archive, e.g.,the archival storage system 22C, and delete these items from the user'sinventory, e.g., in the virtual store. In a further embodiment, the VUmonitoring tool 45 may direct the reduction of inventory assetsassociated with the product, which VU residents have previously taken,e.g., as personal inventory items or assets to be deposited on thelandscape. This embodiment may be particularly relevant in the event ofa recall of a defective product.

Upcoming Event Trigger for Temporary Asset Reduction

In further aspects of the invention, for example, an owner or renter ofspecific land in the VU may be planning a special event on the land,such as, for example, a rock concert or a rally, which may drawadditional VU residents and their inventory to the land. Theseadditional VU residents and their inventory, however, may cause the primobject limit of the land to be exceeded. In order to prevent the primobject limit of the land from being exceeded, for example, the owner ofthe land (or a VU service provider) may initiate temporary personalinventory and asset reduction for all avatars currently on the land, andoptionally, for all avatars who visit the land for the special event.

In embodiments, for example, an organizer of a special event may use thespecial events tool 55 as registration mechanism to indicate a locationfor a special event (e.g., a specific land or region in the VU) and ananticipated number of additional visitors. The VU monitoring tool 45 maymonitor a prim load on the land or region to be used for event.Additionally, the special events tool 55 may estimate the additionalnumber of residents to visit land for the event, e.g., based on reportby the event organizers. Additionally, in embodiments, the specialevents tool 55 may estimate the number of additional VU residents tovisit land for a specific event by a variety of methods, including, forexample, the prior history of similar events and the number ofpre-registrations or ticket purchases (if required) for the upcomingspecial event.

If the VU monitoring tool 45 determines that the prim load for VUresidents currently on the land for the upcoming event plus the primlimit for those residents anticipated to visit the land for the eventapproaches a prim maximum for land, the VU monitoring tool 45 may notifyaffected residents and initiate asset reduction methods, e.g., for theduration of the event. In embodiments, the VU monitoring tool 45 mayidentify categories of assets to be reduced for the duration of thespecial event, using methods which incorporate the prim load associatedwith each asset category as one of the criteria for selecting thiscategory for temporary reduction. Additionally, in embodiments, the VUmonitoring tool 45 may set an individual prim limit for each avatar onthe land, and may direct an asset reduction for those avatars whoseassets exceed the individual prim limits without regard for specificcategories of assets, for example, temporarily reducing an avatar's,e.g., largest assets or least used assets.

Additionally, in embodiments, the VU monitoring tool 45 may optionallydirect, e.g., the deletion or archiving all inventory items associatedwith the special event if those items are left on the land used for thespecial event after the event has concluded. This may include items, forexample, that were created for the special event, items created at thespecial event and/or items used at the special event, amongst otheritems. This constitutes a method for automatic trash removal after aspecific event. The VU monitoring tool 45 may determine relevance ofitems based on their relationship to a just concluded event byassociating VU items with the specific event.

Using the aforementioned criteria and automatic asset reduction methods,VUs will be easier to use by both individuals and corporations.Moreover, the VU infrastructure will be less loaded, giving an advantageto the VU operators and users who make use of this method and system.

Additionally, while the invention has been described using the assetdeletion tool 30, the asset graphical characteristics alteration tool35, the asset archival storage tool 40, the VU monitoring tool 45, thereal world status tool 50 and the special events tool 55, the inventioncontemplates that any of the operations performed by the asset deletiontool 30, the asset graphical characteristics alteration tool 35, theasset archival storage tool 40, the VU monitoring tool 45, the realworld status tool 50 and the special events tool 55 may be performedmanually by a user (e.g., a VU manager, an advertiser or a VU serviceprovider). For example, a VU service provider may alter the graphicalcharacteristics of an asset.

Flow Diagrams

FIGS. 6-8 show exemplary flows for performing aspects of the presentinvention. The steps of FIGS. 6-8 may be implemented in the environmentof FIG. 1, for example. The flow diagrams may equally representhigh-level block diagrams of the invention. The flowcharts and/or blockdiagrams in FIGS. 6-8 illustrate the architecture, functionality, andoperation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computerprogram products according to various embodiments of the presentinvention. In this regard, each block in the flowcharts or blockdiagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, whichcomprises one or more executable instructions for implementing thespecified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in somealternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occurout of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown insuccession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or theblocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending uponthe functionality involved. Each block of each flowchart, andcombinations of the flowchart illustrations can be implemented byspecial purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware andcomputer instructions and/or software, as described above. Moreover, thesteps of the flow diagrams may be implemented and executed from either aserver, in a client server relationship, or they may run on a userworkstation with operative information conveyed to the user workstation.In an embodiment, the software elements include firmware, residentsoftware, microcode, etc.

Furthermore, the invention can take the form of a computer programproduct accessible from a computer-usable or computer-readable mediumproviding program code for use by or in connection with a computer orany instruction execution system. The software and/or computer programproduct can be implemented in the environment of FIG. 1. For thepurposes of this description, a computer-usable or computer readablemedium can be any apparatus that can contain, store, communicate,propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with theinstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The medium can be anelectronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, orsemiconductor system (or apparatus or device) or a propagation medium.Examples of a computer-readable storage medium include a semiconductoror solid state memory, magnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a rigid magneticdisk and an optical disk. Current examples of optical disks includecompact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM), compact disc-read/write (CD-R/W)and DVD.

Furthermore, the invention can take the form of a computer programproduct accessible from a computer-usable or computer-readable mediumproviding program code for use by or in connection with a computer orany instruction execution system. The software and/or computer programproduct can be implemented in the environment of FIG. 1. For thepurposes of this description, a computer-usable or computer readablemedium can be any apparatus that can contain, store, communicate,propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with theinstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The medium can be anelectronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, orsemiconductor system (or apparatus or device) or a propagation medium.Examples of a computer-readable medium include a semiconductor or solidstate memory, magnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, a randomaccess memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a rigid magnetic disk andan optical disk. Current examples of optical disks include compactdisk-read only memory (CD-ROM), compact disc-read/write (CD-R/W) andDVD.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary flow 600 for performing steps of the inventionusing VU triggers. At step 605, the VU monitoring tool detectsoccurrences of a VU resident's visitation to a region of the VU, acollaboration of a VU resident with another VU resident, a change inuser context of the VU resident or a use of a particular mode oftransportation of the VU resident. At step 610, the VU monitoring tooldetermines whether a subsequent occurrence has taken place within apredetermined time from the preceding occurrence. At step 615, if the VUmonitoring tool determines that a subsequent occurrence has taken placewithin the predetermined time period, the process continues at step 605.At step 615, if the VU monitoring tool determines that a subsequentoccurrence has not taken place within the predetermined time period, theprocess continues at step 620.

At step 620, the VU monitoring tool determines items of the VU residentthat are relevant to the occurrence. At step 625, the VU monitoring tooldirects an asset reduction of those relevant items. For example, the VUmonitoring tool may direct the asset deletion tool to delete therelevant asset from the landscape or the VU resident's inventory, maydirect the asset graphical characteristics alteration tool to elide thegraphical characteristics of the relevant asset, and/or may direct theasset archival storage tool to move the relevant asset to the archivalstorage system.

It should be understood, that while the steps have been described asoccurring in a particular order, the invention contemplates that thesteps may be performed in other orders. For example, step 620 may occurprior to step 605. Furthermore, the invention contemplates that, inembodiments, steps may be implied or omitted while still remaining trueto this invention.

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary flow 700 for performing steps of the inventionusing real world triggers. At step 705, the VU monitoring tool detects areal world status change (e.g., from a previous real world status to acurrent real world status) via the real world status tool. At step 710,the VU monitoring tool determines items relevant to the previous realworld status. At step 715, the VU monitoring tool directs an assetreduction of those relevant items. For example, the VU monitoring toolmay direct the asset deletion tool to delete the relevant items from thelandscape or the VU resident's inventory, may direct the asset graphicalcharacteristics alteration tool to elide the graphical characteristicsof the relevant items, and/or may direct the asset archival storage toolto move the relevant items to the archival storage system.

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary flow 800 for performing steps of the inventionfor VU special events. At step 805, the VU monitoring tool detects a VUspecial event via the special events tool. At step 810, the VUmonitoring tool determines a prim load limit for the VU region where thespecial event is occurring (or will be occurring). At step 815, the VUmonitoring tool directs an asset reduction for those VU residentscurrently in the VU region where the special event is occurring. Forexample, the VU monitoring tool may direct the asset deletion tool todelete the assets from the landscape or the VU resident's inventory, maydirect the asset graphical characteristics alteration tool to elide thegraphical characteristics of the assets, and/or may direct the assetarchival storage tool to move the assets to the archival storage system.At step 820, the VU monitoring tool optionally directs an assetreduction for VU residents who visit the VU region where the specialevent is occurring. It should be understood that step 820 is an optionalstep, as indicated by the dashed lines. At step 825, the VU monitoringtool optionally directs an asset reduction for an after-event cleanup.It should be understood that step 825 is an optional step, as indicatedby the dashed lines.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims, if applicable, areintended to include any structure, material, or act for performing thefunction in combination with other claimed elements as specificallyclaimed. The description of the present invention has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to beexhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated. Accordingly, while the invention has beendescribed in terms of embodiments, those of skill in the art willrecognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications and inthe spirit and scope of the appended claims.

1. A method implemented in a computer infrastructure having computerexecutable code tangibly embodied on a computer readable medium, themethod comprising: detecting one of a plurality of criteria comprisingan absence of a virtual universe (VU) occurrence in a VU within apredetermined time period, a special event in the VU and a change ofreal world status from a previous real world status, the VU comprising acomputer-based simulated environment using three-dimensional graphics,and for users to traverse, inhabit and interact through use of avatars;determining a VU asset of a VU resident relevant to the detected one ofthe plurality of criteria, wherein the VU asset is an object the VUresident owns; and performing an automated asset reduction of the VUasset based on the determining, wherein: the performing the automatedasset reduction comprises: an alteration of a graphical characteristicof the VU asset; and an archiving of the VU asset in a storage systemand a removal of the VU asset from a VU landscape; the alteration of thegraphical characteristic of the VU asset comprises providing amonochrome representation of the VU asset; the VU asset is a compositeof primitive objects having a mapped texture, the primitive objectsbeing at least one of a box, a prism, a sphere, a cylinder, a tori, atube and a ring; and the VU asset is included in an inventory of assetsowned by the VU resident.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the VUoccurrence comprises one of: a visitation of the VU resident to a regionof the VU; a collaboration between the VU resident and another VUresident; a use of a previous user context of the VU resident; and a useof a VU mode of transportation by the VU resident.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the determining the VU asset relevant to the visitationof the VU resident to the region of the VU comprises determining atleast one of a frequency and a duration of use of the VU asset by the VUresident while in the region of the VU.
 4. The method of claim 2,wherein the determining the VU asset relevant to the collaborationbetween the VU resident and the other VU resident comprises determiningat least one of a frequency and a duration of use of the VU asset by theVU resident while at least one of in a proximity of and communicatingwith the another VU resident.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein thedetermining the VU asset relevant to the use of the previous usercontext of the VU resident comprises determining at least one of afrequency and a duration of use of the VU asset by the VU resident whilewithin the previous user context.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein thedetermining the VU asset relevant to the use of the VU mode oftransportation by the VU resident comprises determining at least one ofa frequency and a duration of use of the VU asset by the VU residentwhile using the VU mode of transportation.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the determining the VU asset relevant to the special eventcomprises: determining at least one of a primitive object (prim) loadlimit for a VU land for the special event and an individual avatar primload limit; determining an expected prim load for the special event; andat least one of: determining a category of assets whose asset reductionmaintains an actual prim load beneath the prim load limit; anddetermining an individual avatar's assets whose asset reduction at leastone of maintains the actual prim load beneath the prim load limit andmaintains an actual individual prim load beneath the individual avatarprim load limit.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the determining theVU asset relevant to the special event further comprises identifyingassets of a visiting avatar arriving at the special event whose assetreduction maintains the actual prim load beneath the prim load limit. 9.The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the VU asset relevant tothe special event comprises determining a VU asset at least one ofcreated for the special event, created at the special event, used at thespecial event, and left at the special event by the VU resident afterthe VU resident has left the special event.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the storage system comprises at least one of a VU storagesystem, a secondary VU archival storage system and a client sidearchival storage system.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein thepredetermined time period is configurable.
 12. The method of claim 1,further comprising providing a visual indicator of a future assetreduction for the VU asset prior to the performing the automated assetreduction of the VU asset, wherein the visual indicator comprises atleast one of a blinking, a flashing and a fading of the VU asset. 13.The method of claim 1, wherein an asset reduction method is selectableby at least one of the VU resident, a VU service provider, and an assetreduction service provider.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein a serviceprovider at least one of creates, maintains, deploys and supports thecomputer infrastructure that performs the steps of claim
 1. 15. Themethod of claim 1, wherein steps of claim 1 are provided by a serviceprovider on a subscription, advertising, and/or fee basis.
 16. Themethod of claim 1, wherein: the VU occurrence comprises one of: acollaboration between the VU resident and another VU resident; and a useof a VU mode of transportation by the VU resident; the determining theVU asset relevant to the collaboration between the VU resident and theother VU resident comprises determining at least one of a frequency anda duration of use of the VU asset by the VU resident while at least oneof in a proximity of and communicating with the another VU resident; andthe determining the VU asset relevant to the use of the VU mode oftransportation by the VU resident comprises determining at least one ofa frequency and a duration of use of the VU asset by the VU residentwhile using the VU mode of transportation.
 17. The method of claim 1,wherein: the special event comprises a temporary influx of a pluralityof avatars and a plurality of VU assets associated with the plurality ofavatars, at a VU land; and the determining the VU asset relevant to thespecial event comprises: determining a primitive object (prim) loadlimit for the VU land for the special event and an individual avatarprim load limit; determining an expected prim load for the specialevent; determining a category of assets whose asset reduction maintainsan actual prim load beneath the prim load limit; and determining anindividual avatar's assets whose asset reduction at least one ofmaintains the actual prim load beneath the prim load limit and maintainsan actual individual prim load beneath the individual avatar prim loadlimit.